22. Goodlad, J. Summary “We honor ambition, we reward greed, we celebrate materialism, we worship acquisitiveness, we cherish success, and we commercialize the classroom—and then we bark at the young about the gentle art of the spirit” (135). John Goodland, president of the Institute for Educational Inquiry, claims that we do not teach our students what we want them to learn. He argues that test scores impede civic understanding and democratic citizenship. Test scores are the puppet strings that dictate the actions of our education system. The beautiful diversity of humankind is ignored in such a system. The system is ultimately broken. Low-income children are left out in the dispersion of educational resources. They don’t receive scholarships, funding for head start programs or have the privilege of permanent or long-term teachers. In order to fix the broken system that is education, we must passionately inject morality into education. Schooling must address all of the moral issues that the larger community does not.
-Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
John Goodlad’s article talks about how schools are obligated to teach social justice and equality to students. Educating the students is the way to invoke social change. This is optimistic thinking coming from Goodlad. It is true that schools have a great influence on students’ behavior but the schools are only part of the environment the students pick up the importance of social justice and equality. The student’s society is a better gauge on how the student views social justice and equality. If the student’s outside of the classroom environment contradicts the teaching environment, the student might think of the equality lessons to be specific for school but not to be carried over in home life. -Katie Reilly
Implications
As a principal, I think one of my major roles would be addressing these ‘big idea’ issues. I think it would be important to educate my staff, as well as the community, about the harmful effects of creating a social caste system which people judge students and children. For my staff, I would implement workshops which discuss the role of the child’s environment in learning. This workshop would include a general overview of the social caste system displayed nationwide and then a localized and personalized view of our school community. By talking about national and local moral ecology and the role of schools, I hope my teachers would be able to have a firm understanding of these factors affect all students. Furthermore, if I were a principal in an impoverished community, I would discuss ways to combat issues which lead to unfair advantages for students, i.e.; frequent substitutes, family income, limited school resources, etc.
In addition, I would create a ‘team’ of teachers who would be responsible for updating staff on pertinent information about students. The team would allow teachers to tackle easy and solvable problems in order to give students an equal chance at covering the same material as other students. For example, one of the team teachers could discover a student is unable to make it to first hour everyday because their guardian sleeps in causing them to be late. The special team could make Teachers aware of this problem and develop solutions for helping the student keep up with information and class work. A solution could be pairing the student with an exceptional student who would be willing to let them borrow class notes, look at their planner and pick up an extra worksheet for them. Also, teachers who stay late to finish up work could volunteer their room for the student in case they have questions about the assignment or need to utilize school supplies. These ideas are a few ways teachers can work to lessen the impact of the environment affects on the students’ academics.
As for the community, I think it would be important to provide information about social casting and how it can be prevented. It would also be beneficial to address issues the community faces—as far as home environments affecting student performance—and give suggestions to fix or eliminate these obstacles.
--K. McCollum
23. Nord, W. Summary “Because religion plays significant roles in history and society, study about religion is essential to understanding both the nation and world. Omission of facts about religion can give students the false impression that the religious life of humankind is insignificant or unimportant”(138). In the article, “The Relevance of Religion to the Curriculum,” Warren A. Nord makes the claim that teaching religion in schools is in fact, no longer controversial. Although no longer controversial, Nord says that a heated debate remains not if religion should be taught but where in the curriculum it belongs. By ignoring religion in the curriculum, the education system is ignoring a profound way of making sense of the world. When religion is taught in schools it is often placed in history curriculum that only mentions facts and foregoes any methods of critical thinking. Nord argues that students need to be introduced to more complex religious concepts because students are completely unaware that religious conflicts or tensions even exist. Instruction including religion should begin in elementary school including basic information and facts but older students should be required to take a minimum of a year-long course in religion, along with the choice of religion electives. Nord believes that many aspects of life cannot be understood without an understanding of religion. Scriptural texts address many issues such as morality, poverty, wealth, work, stewardship, economics and more. By including religion into more aspects of the curriculum we would be preparing students to function as democratic citizens. Nord continues to argue that ignoring religion in the curriculum is illiberal, politically unjust, and unconstitutional. • Students without knowledge of religion are close- minded• Religious parents are educationally disenfranchised.• Not teaching religion favors non-religion over religion. Schools that do not teach religion are not hostile towards it, they simply choose to ignore it. In order to be fair, schools must require the study of religion if they require the study of disciplines that cumulatively lead to secular ways of thinking. -Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
The relevance of religion to the curriculum” wants public school curriculum to have religion as one of its components. With a student population diversified in religion, which religious impacts do teachers put in their classrooms? Time constraints do not allow for teachers to explore every religious impact on every topic covered in their classroom so the teacher will have to be selective in the content the class covers during the year. This selection will vary in its bias though lean heavily towards the teacher’s view of the world and in the end backs teachers in corners concerning beliefs. For example, if a student raises his or her hand stating an opinion on another student’s religious facts how does the student whose beliefs are in question feel in the classroom? Another type of problem that happens in schools with little diversity in education is how many religious views are considered fair in the classroom? If a school system is over ninety percent Christians, does the teacher go over other religious views on the topic? Most would say it is important for the students to learn about different religions for tolerance purposes but the truth is that students with a solid religious belief system at home look at the world differently then students who do not have a solid religious background.
A different issue Warren Nord mentions in his article is how not putting religious beliefs in the public schools is unconstitutional. Untied States prides itself on having a separation of church and state and if public schools allow religion within its walls then the schools lose their neutrality between religious people with different beliefs. Nord believes that neutrality is lost when religion is not mentioned in schools but mentioning some of the religions while excluding others tip the scale from neutrality. -Katie Reilly
Implications
As a principal, I think there is value in establishing a religious studies course. I believe students will learn a great deal from having exposure to world religions and how they have impacted various other courses, i.e., Science, History, English, etc. I think that in order to produce empathetic and open-minded students, it would be extremely beneficial for students to learn about such controversial topics by an educational institution. This would eliminate negative opinions, falsifications and biases based on people placing superiority on certain religions.
However, I think the key to the success of the program lies within the instructor. It is imperative, as a principal, to pick someone who is able to teach the sensitive subject in a way that is inoffensive to students, but also challenges their current perceptions. I would have to know and trust that the teacher is able to handle difficult questions, confrontational students and parents and still is inspired to inform students about how religion is a major component of human life.
Lastly, I think the course should cover numerous religions—in order for students to grasp various cultural differences—and highlight their commonalities as well as their differences. Students should know going into the class that the course will be taught like any other subject; the information will be objective, factual and open to student interpretation. Students may participate and share their views, but the purpose of the class is not to convert others or ‘put down’ other religions. The course would be a way to educate students about important human traits other than intelligence, such as, morals and ethics which are the foundations of most religions. --K.McCollum
24. Hirsch, E.D. Summary In the article, “The Core Knowledge Curriculum- What’s Behind Its Success,” author E.D. Hirsch, Jr. compares learning to budding leaves on a tree. The old leaves actively help nourish the new leaves, therefore the more old leaves we have, the faster we can develop new leaves. In other words, knowledge builds upon knowledge in an organic process and this is what the Core Knowledge Curriculum is capable of doing. Core Knowledge Curriculum can:• Decrease cumulative learning deficits• Increase school morale• Increase collaboration• Culminate grade-by-grade shared knowledge Hirsch claims that when a Core Knowledge Curriculum is implemented disciplinary problems will go down, student and teacher attendance will go up, critical thinking will be enhanced, and standardized test scores will go up. -Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
Core Knowledge Curriculum has the same problems of the current regulated standards. The author of this article argues the Core Knowledge will help bridge the gap between well funded schools and lower income schools. For this solution to work means all teachers are going to cover everything the Core Knowledge requires for the students but the standards are only half the problem. The other is how much of the classroom is given to the teacher. The article mentioned how this curriculum allows for fifty percent of classroom time to be delegated by the teacher. This allows varies content in classrooms across the country. -Katie Reilly
Implications
As a principal, I think there are many impressive facts and astonishing evidence supporting why schools should adopt Core Curriculum. The results seem fantastic; and who could argue with student improvement and bridging achievement gaps? However, I would want to adopt the curriculum only if teachers were creating the standards. I think it is important for teachers—those who have studied how to educate children—to determine what things are necessary at which age to continue productive learning. I would be opposed to accepting the curriculum if I knew it was being constructed by large corporations, politicians or other institutions/people who know nothing about educating the youth.
Furthermore, I think it would be advantageous to talk with my staff before adopting the curriculum. Some teachers may be resistant or unwilling to learn about core curriculum because they feel pressured to teach to more standards or feel limited as a creative individual. I would want them to be informed about the previous positive results of the program, as well as the pitfalls. By knowing the pitfalls, the staff may have suggestions to avoid falling in to similar ‘sticky’ situations and improve the system. Additionally, I would let my staff know the core curriculum makes their job easier and more fun; they have a guide letting them know what they need to cover and they can teach them using their own style and ingenuity.
--K.McCollum
25. Noddings, N. Summary Why Teach Caring? In an education world that is dominated by standardized tests and high achievement gaps, a caring curriculum is often put on the back burner. Although often overlooked, this type of curriculum is deemed as essential by Ned Noddings, a lead figure in educational philosophy. We cannot even being to improve test scores or lower the achievement gap until we begin to show our children that we really care about them. A caring curriculum is crucial because it has the ability to:• Expand our children’s cultural literacy• Connect the standard subjects• Connect our students and our subjects to existential questions• Connect us person-to-person Choosing and Organizing Themes of Care Themes of caring can be implemented on both the structural and individual level. On the structural level, caring educational communities can be organized in ways that foster support and trusting relationships. Small schools can create more caring environments then larger schools can. Keeping teachers and students together for a longer period of time is also another way to implement caring. On the individual level, parents and teachers can be involved in their children’s or student’s activities and they can share their own dreams and doubts. Teachers spend so much time with their students that they should be prepared to respond to all the needs of the student, maybe even more so then school counselors. Children will inevitably feel cared for if they have an adult in their life that consistently shows compassion. Even curriculum can be caring if it involves studying global others, war, tolerance, poverty, love, and more. Interdisciplinary approaches to caring involve cross-curricular study but are often difficult to implement especially in the older grades. Overall, according to Noddings, caring for students is fundamental to teaching. -Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
Nel Noddings has a noble cause of trying to have education teach students how to care about people and objects in the world but he has overestimated the time teachers have with their students. Most teachers are always behind right now without adding more material to the current curriculum.
The article also is insensitive the diversity in the classroom. It is impossible to expect teachers to instruct twenty-five to thirty unique students on their own personal belief system regarding care. -Katie Reilly
Implications
In theory, Noddings idea sounds like it could have the potential to improve students’ empathy; however, as a principal I would never implement these ideas into the classroom. Noddings suggestions seem too routed in religion and seem as though much of the class time would be dedicated to incorporating ‘caring’ as opposed to learning about the topic. If my staff were to utilize this program and add Noddings examples of adding ‘caring’ to lessons I think parents would be extremely upset. The topics he suggests are incredibly controversial and very easy for students to twist or misremember the ‘key points’ of the lesson. In addition, I would have displeased teachers who might be aggravated that they have to incorporate yet another thing into their already packed lesson plans. The intentions of the program are good; I just don’t think they are realistic.
Nevertheless, I do believe it is important for students to learn about significant traits of character, such as, caring, loyalty, trustworthiness, and utilize critical thinking skills to assess their use of these qualities. I would much rather adopt the religious studies class which teaches the value humankind has placed on caring in different respects, as well as other social traits which are essential to someone’s character. Another way to fuse caring into lessons would be to mandate that teachers allocate a few days every semester to stress the importance of a certain moral or emotional intelligence aspects, such as caring, open-mindedness or honesty. This method allows for students to learn about other important characteristics of human behavior; but does not burden teachers with the extra work and headache of having to adjust all lessons to fit in the topic of caring. Plus, students may take the ‘moral’ days more seriously because the content area topic can/will be closely related to the moral characteristic and provide a deeper meaning.
--K.McCollum What Happened? (2)
What happened?
My third hour class is called LANGUAGE! and is a lower level Language Arts class for sixth graders. Because “lower level” can range anywhere from reading at a 5th grade level to a 1st grade level, there is a large learning gap in this classroom. Some students seem to do just fine by themselves, finishing tests quickly and accurately, while others struggle to even read the words on a page. This makes creating lessons that ca help all of them succeed very difficult, as I have to accommodate everyone in the class, not just the ones who are ahead or the ones who are behind.
Why did it happen?
My school is in Allegan, a community not known for having a high median income or high funding for schools. Because money coming into the school is limited, there just aren’t the resources to help students who are considered to be behind their grade level academically. A few students in my class qualify for Special Education help, and they get it, but for the others, there’s really nothing we can do. The class may only have fifteen students in it, but its impossible to give them all the individual attention they need to succeed without neglecting the rest of the class.
What does it mean?
The LANGUAGE! class idea is a good one, but it’s completely flawed in execution. My CT and I are not equipped to teach individual students how to read in 18 weeks while also working with all of the other students on completely different assignments. Each of the students in the class really needs to have their own curriculum to focus on getting them more up to speed in Language Arts, but there just aren’t enough resources or teachers in the classroom to actually make individualization work. I feel that in order for the students in the LANGUAGE! class to succeed, they each need a one-on-one tutor to work with them on the specific things they need help with.
What are the implications?
When devising a lower level Language Arts program, developers must provide students with all of the resources they need to catch up to their grade level, whether that be a tutor or an individualized lesson plan. Placing students of vastly different abilities in one classroom and expecting them to all be able to cope is a bit ridiculous and only furthers the learning gap.
- Kristy McPherson What Happened: Every day during lunch the students are corralled into the cafeteria/gym and are not allowed to leave unless escorted by a staff member. Inside the lunchroom there is always one adult in addition to the lunch attendant to monitor the students. Last week it was one boy’s birthday and this girl in school decided to give boys hand jobs on their birthdays. This particular day she gave the birthday boy a hand job in the lunchroom at a table without trying to hide much. Afterwards he began to reciprocate the favor until a teacher caught them.
Why did it happen: This happens in school because this girl was not taught to care about herself enough to not give strange boys hand jobs in the lunchroom to get attention. These boys have not been taught to care about themselves or the people whom with they are sexually involved. Not only do these kids not care enough about themselves or their multitude of partners, they do not care enough to keep each other sexually safe.
What does it mean: This disregard for respect of themselves and each other is sad. The way that they act means that they’ve never been taught to even care about themselves. These girls, especially, do not believe they are worth anything more than to be used as sexual toys. The straight boys believe that girls should be treated as a means to satisfaction.
Implications for Practice: These kids need to be taught more than abstinence and the safe sex slogan. They need to know where and how to obtain protection and the appropriate ways to use these methods. The false assumption these kids have about what can lead to an STI is astonishing; these kids do not know that more than sex can lead to an STI. The consequences of the actions these students are taking are not apparent to them. They need training to learn how to care about themselves and to treat each other with respect.
-ashley gwinn
What happened? I wanted to focus this scenario on the article “Teaching Themes of Care”. In this article it makes claims that the theme of caring needs to be inserted into the curriculum and hints at the notion that it shouldn’t end there. I want to discuss the going beyond that. The school that I am at (SWCC) has a large number of students with behavioral issues and a staggering number who fall below the poverty line. Most of them are latchkey kids with their parents working a variety of first, second, or third or shifts (sometimes a combination of multiple) thus causing them to have limited time with their parents and thus a deficiency of positive role models in their life.
Knowing some of their backgrounds, I have made strides to get to know the students on a personal level too. I've learned their hardships; I've listened to their heart-felt stories; I've shared some of my stories. All in all, I have tried to take an interest in them.
This all leads up to last week, when the girls had a volleyball game afterschool. I told them that I would be there no matter what. They were shocked which made me a little confused. The one girl said, “You’re really, really, really gonna be there?!” “Of course,” I responded. I attended the game and they all were pumped when I walked in and left their pregame warm-up to say hi.
Why did it happen? When I was at the game, only one of the 10 girls parents showed up to the game and I began to understand why they were so excited I came. I’m not sure if their parents promise to come and don’t, or if they just can’t/won’t. It put a lot of their home lives in perspective for me. The one parent who did come, went over to the bench in between games and was talking to their child (who was struggling to hit the ball) and all I could see was the child start crying. Thus, after the game I made a point to go over to her, in front of the parent, and congratulate her on the aspects she did very well with (aka serving overhand). What does it mean? It shows that in students’ lives (especially in poverty areas where the work schedule isn’t always 9-5) they don’t always get the time and support from their families. Also, they go home and have free reign to do as they please until their parents come home. What are the implications for future practice? That is why as teachers who spend a third of their day with them (at least in my grade level) we have the responsibility to help teach them themes of caring. Not simply by reading about it, but by demonstrating it.
One key area that schools do a good job in (but there is room for improvement) is with after school programs. It gives parents time to get home, it gives students more time with good role models, and they can be engaged in a variety of activities
Summary
“We honor ambition, we reward greed, we celebrate materialism, we worship acquisitiveness, we cherish success, and we commercialize the classroom—and then we bark at the young about the gentle art of the spirit” (135).
John Goodland, president of the Institute for Educational Inquiry, claims that we do not teach our students what we want them to learn. He argues that test scores impede civic understanding and democratic citizenship. Test scores are the puppet strings that dictate the actions of our education system. The beautiful diversity of humankind is ignored in such a system. The system is ultimately broken. Low-income children are left out in the dispersion of educational resources. They don’t receive scholarships, funding for head start programs or have the privilege of permanent or long-term teachers. In order to fix the broken system that is education, we must passionately inject morality into education. Schooling must address all of the moral issues that the larger community does not.
-Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
John Goodlad’s article talks about how schools are obligated to teach social justice and equality to students. Educating the students is the way to invoke social change. This is optimistic thinking coming from Goodlad. It is true that schools have a great influence on students’ behavior but the schools are only part of the environment the students pick up the importance of social justice and equality. The student’s society is a better gauge on how the student views social justice and equality. If the student’s outside of the classroom environment contradicts the teaching environment, the student might think of the equality lessons to be specific for school but not to be carried over in home life.
-Katie Reilly
Implications
As a principal, I think one of my major roles would be addressing these ‘big idea’ issues. I think it would be important to educate my staff, as well as the community, about the harmful effects of creating a social caste system which people judge students and children.
For my staff, I would implement workshops which discuss the role of the child’s environment in learning. This workshop would include a general overview of the social caste system displayed nationwide and then a localized and personalized view of our school community. By talking about national and local moral ecology and the role of schools, I hope my teachers would be able to have a firm understanding of these factors affect all students. Furthermore, if I were a principal in an impoverished community, I would discuss ways to combat issues which lead to unfair advantages for students, i.e.; frequent substitutes, family income, limited school resources, etc.
In addition, I would create a ‘team’ of teachers who would be responsible for updating staff on pertinent information about students. The team would allow teachers to tackle easy and solvable problems in order to give students an equal chance at covering the same material as other students. For example, one of the team teachers could discover a student is unable to make it to first hour everyday because their guardian sleeps in causing them to be late. The special team could make Teachers aware of this problem and develop solutions for helping the student keep up with information and class work. A solution could be pairing the student with an exceptional student who would be willing to let them borrow class notes, look at their planner and pick up an extra worksheet for them. Also, teachers who stay late to finish up work could volunteer their room for the student in case they have questions about the assignment or need to utilize school supplies. These ideas are a few ways teachers can work to lessen the impact of the environment affects on the students’ academics.
As for the community, I think it would be important to provide information about social casting and how it can be prevented. It would also be beneficial to address issues the community faces—as far as home environments affecting student performance—and give suggestions to fix or eliminate these obstacles.
--K. McCollum
23. Nord, W.
Summary
“Because religion plays significant roles in history and society, study about religion is essential to understanding both the nation and world. Omission of facts about religion can give students the false impression that the religious life of humankind is insignificant or unimportant”(138).
In the article, “The Relevance of Religion to the Curriculum,” Warren A. Nord makes the claim that teaching religion in schools is in fact, no longer controversial. Although no longer controversial, Nord says that a heated debate remains not if religion should be taught but where in the curriculum it belongs. By ignoring religion in the curriculum, the education system is ignoring a profound way of making sense of the world. When religion is taught in schools it is often placed in history curriculum that only mentions facts and foregoes any methods of critical thinking. Nord argues that students need to be introduced to more complex religious concepts because students are completely unaware that religious conflicts or tensions even exist. Instruction including religion should begin in elementary school including basic information and facts but older students should be required to take a minimum of a year-long course in religion, along with the choice of religion electives. Nord believes that many aspects of life cannot be understood without an understanding of religion. Scriptural texts address many issues such as morality, poverty, wealth, work, stewardship, economics and more. By including religion into more aspects of the curriculum we would be preparing students to function as democratic citizens. Nord continues to argue that ignoring religion in the curriculum is illiberal, politically unjust, and unconstitutional. • Students without knowledge of religion are close- minded• Religious parents are educationally disenfranchised.• Not teaching religion favors non-religion over religion.
Schools that do not teach religion are not hostile towards it, they simply choose to ignore it. In order to be fair, schools must require the study of religion if they require the study of disciplines that cumulatively lead to secular ways of thinking.
-Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
The relevance of religion to the curriculum” wants public school curriculum to have religion as one of its components. With a student population diversified in religion, which religious impacts do teachers put in their classrooms? Time constraints do not allow for teachers to explore every religious impact on every topic covered in their classroom so the teacher will have to be selective in the content the class covers during the year. This selection will vary in its bias though lean heavily towards the teacher’s view of the world and in the end backs teachers in corners concerning beliefs. For example, if a student raises his or her hand stating an opinion on another student’s religious facts how does the student whose beliefs are in question feel in the classroom? Another type of problem that happens in schools with little diversity in education is how many religious views are considered fair in the classroom? If a school system is over ninety percent Christians, does the teacher go over other religious views on the topic? Most would say it is important for the students to learn about different religions for tolerance purposes but the truth is that students with a solid religious belief system at home look at the world differently then students who do not have a solid religious background.
A different issue Warren Nord mentions in his article is how not putting religious beliefs in the public schools is unconstitutional. Untied States prides itself on having a separation of church and state and if public schools allow religion within its walls then the schools lose their neutrality between religious people with different beliefs. Nord believes that neutrality is lost when religion is not mentioned in schools but mentioning some of the religions while excluding others tip the scale from neutrality.
-Katie Reilly
Implications
As a principal, I think there is value in establishing a religious studies course. I believe students will learn a great deal from having exposure to world religions and how they have impacted various other courses, i.e., Science, History, English, etc. I think that in order to produce empathetic and open-minded students, it would be extremely beneficial for students to learn about such controversial topics by an educational institution. This would eliminate negative opinions, falsifications and biases based on people placing superiority on certain religions.
However, I think the key to the success of the program lies within the instructor. It is imperative, as a principal, to pick someone who is able to teach the sensitive subject in a way that is inoffensive to students, but also challenges their current perceptions. I would have to know and trust that the teacher is able to handle difficult questions, confrontational students and parents and still is inspired to inform students about how religion is a major component of human life.
Lastly, I think the course should cover numerous religions—in order for students to grasp various cultural differences—and highlight their commonalities as well as their differences. Students should know going into the class that the course will be taught like any other subject; the information will be objective, factual and open to student interpretation. Students may participate and share their views, but the purpose of the class is not to convert others or ‘put down’ other religions. The course would be a way to educate students about important human traits other than intelligence, such as, morals and ethics which are the foundations of most religions.
--K.McCollum
24. Hirsch, E.D.
Summary
In the article, “The Core Knowledge Curriculum- What’s Behind Its Success,” author E.D. Hirsch, Jr. compares learning to budding leaves on a tree. The old leaves actively help nourish the new leaves, therefore the more old leaves we have, the faster we can develop new leaves. In other words, knowledge builds upon knowledge in an organic process and this is what the Core Knowledge Curriculum is capable of doing.
Core Knowledge Curriculum can:• Decrease cumulative learning deficits• Increase school morale• Increase collaboration• Culminate grade-by-grade shared knowledge
Hirsch claims that when a Core Knowledge Curriculum is implemented disciplinary problems will go down, student and teacher attendance will go up, critical thinking will be enhanced, and standardized test scores will go up.
-Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
Core Knowledge Curriculum has the same problems of the current regulated standards. The author of this article argues the Core Knowledge will help bridge the gap between well funded schools and lower income schools. For this solution to work means all teachers are going to cover everything the Core Knowledge requires for the students but the standards are only half the problem. The other is how much of the classroom is given to the teacher. The article mentioned how this curriculum allows for fifty percent of classroom time to be delegated by the teacher. This allows varies content in classrooms across the country.
-Katie Reilly
Implications
As a principal, I think there are many impressive facts and astonishing evidence supporting why schools should adopt Core Curriculum. The results seem fantastic; and who could argue with student improvement and bridging achievement gaps? However, I would want to adopt the curriculum only if teachers were creating the standards. I think it is important for teachers—those who have studied how to educate children—to determine what things are necessary at which age to continue productive learning. I would be opposed to accepting the curriculum if I knew it was being constructed by large corporations, politicians or other institutions/people who know nothing about educating the youth.
Furthermore, I think it would be advantageous to talk with my staff before adopting the curriculum. Some teachers may be resistant or unwilling to learn about core curriculum because they feel pressured to teach to more standards or feel limited as a creative individual. I would want them to be informed about the previous positive results of the program, as well as the pitfalls. By knowing the pitfalls, the staff may have suggestions to avoid falling in to similar ‘sticky’ situations and improve the system. Additionally, I would let my staff know the core curriculum makes their job easier and more fun; they have a guide letting them know what they need to cover and they can teach them using their own style and ingenuity.
--K.McCollum
25. Noddings, N.
Summary
Why Teach Caring? In an education world that is dominated by standardized tests and high achievement gaps, a caring curriculum is often put on the back burner. Although often overlooked, this type of curriculum is deemed as essential by Ned Noddings, a lead figure in educational philosophy. We cannot even being to improve test scores or lower the achievement gap until we begin to show our children that we really care about them.
A caring curriculum is crucial because it has the ability to:• Expand our children’s cultural literacy• Connect the standard subjects• Connect our students and our subjects to existential questions• Connect us person-to-person
Choosing and Organizing Themes of Care Themes of caring can be implemented on both the structural and individual level. On the structural level, caring educational communities can be organized in ways that foster support and trusting relationships. Small schools can create more caring environments then larger schools can. Keeping teachers and students together for a longer period of time is also another way to implement caring. On the individual level, parents and teachers can be involved in their children’s or student’s activities and they can share their own dreams and doubts. Teachers spend so much time with their students that they should be prepared to respond to all the needs of the student, maybe even more so then school counselors. Children will inevitably feel cared for if they have an adult in their life that consistently shows compassion. Even curriculum can be caring if it involves studying global others, war, tolerance, poverty, love, and more. Interdisciplinary approaches to caring involve cross-curricular study but are often difficult to implement especially in the older grades. Overall, according to Noddings, caring for students is fundamental to teaching.
-Kelsey Curlett
Doubting Lens
Nel Noddings has a noble cause of trying to have education teach students how to care about people and objects in the world but he has overestimated the time teachers have with their students. Most teachers are always behind right now without adding more material to the current curriculum.
The article also is insensitive the diversity in the classroom. It is impossible to expect teachers to instruct twenty-five to thirty unique students on their own personal belief system regarding care.
-Katie Reilly
Implications
In theory, Noddings idea sounds like it could have the potential to improve students’ empathy; however, as a principal I would never implement these ideas into the classroom. Noddings suggestions seem too routed in religion and seem as though much of the class time would be dedicated to incorporating ‘caring’ as opposed to learning about the topic. If my staff were to utilize this program and add Noddings examples of adding ‘caring’ to lessons I think parents would be extremely upset. The topics he suggests are incredibly controversial and very easy for students to twist or misremember the ‘key points’ of the lesson. In addition, I would have displeased teachers who might be aggravated that they have to incorporate yet another thing into their already packed lesson plans. The intentions of the program are good; I just don’t think they are realistic.
Nevertheless, I do believe it is important for students to learn about significant traits of character, such as, caring, loyalty, trustworthiness, and utilize critical thinking skills to assess their use of these qualities. I would much rather adopt the religious studies class which teaches the value humankind has placed on caring in different respects, as well as other social traits which are essential to someone’s character. Another way to fuse caring into lessons would be to mandate that teachers allocate a few days every semester to stress the importance of a certain moral or emotional intelligence aspects, such as caring, open-mindedness or honesty. This method allows for students to learn about other important characteristics of human behavior; but does not burden teachers with the extra work and headache of having to adjust all lessons to fit in the topic of caring. Plus, students may take the ‘moral’ days more seriously because the content area topic can/will be closely related to the moral characteristic and provide a deeper meaning.
--K.McCollum
What Happened? (2)
What happened?
My third hour class is called LANGUAGE! and is a lower level Language Arts class for sixth graders. Because “lower level” can range anywhere from reading at a 5th grade level to a 1st grade level, there is a large learning gap in this classroom. Some students seem to do just fine by themselves, finishing tests quickly and accurately, while others struggle to even read the words on a page. This makes creating lessons that ca help all of them succeed very difficult, as I have to accommodate everyone in the class, not just the ones who are ahead or the ones who are behind.
Why did it happen?
My school is in Allegan, a community not known for having a high median income or high funding for schools. Because money coming into the school is limited, there just aren’t the resources to help students who are considered to be behind their grade level academically. A few students in my class qualify for Special Education help, and they get it, but for the others, there’s really nothing we can do. The class may only have fifteen students in it, but its impossible to give them all the individual attention they need to succeed without neglecting the rest of the class.
What does it mean?
The LANGUAGE! class idea is a good one, but it’s completely flawed in execution. My CT and I are not equipped to teach individual students how to read in 18 weeks while also working with all of the other students on completely different assignments. Each of the students in the class really needs to have their own curriculum to focus on getting them more up to speed in Language Arts, but there just aren’t enough resources or teachers in the classroom to actually make individualization work. I feel that in order for the students in the LANGUAGE! class to succeed, they each need a one-on-one tutor to work with them on the specific things they need help with.
What are the implications?
When devising a lower level Language Arts program, developers must provide students with all of the resources they need to catch up to their grade level, whether that be a tutor or an individualized lesson plan. Placing students of vastly different abilities in one classroom and expecting them to all be able to cope is a bit ridiculous and only furthers the learning gap.
- Kristy McPherson
What Happened: Every day during lunch the students are corralled into the cafeteria/gym and are not allowed to leave unless escorted by a staff member. Inside the lunchroom there is always one adult in addition to the lunch attendant to monitor the students. Last week it was one boy’s birthday and this girl in school decided to give boys hand jobs on their birthdays. This particular day she gave the birthday boy a hand job in the lunchroom at a table without trying to hide much. Afterwards he began to reciprocate the favor until a teacher caught them.
Why did it happen: This happens in school because this girl was not taught to care about herself enough to not give strange boys hand jobs in the lunchroom to get attention. These boys have not been taught to care about themselves or the people whom with they are sexually involved. Not only do these kids not care enough about themselves or their multitude of partners, they do not care enough to keep each other sexually safe.
What does it mean: This disregard for respect of themselves and each other is sad. The way that they act means that they’ve never been taught to even care about themselves. These girls, especially, do not believe they are worth anything more than to be used as sexual toys. The straight boys believe that girls should be treated as a means to satisfaction.
Implications for Practice: These kids need to be taught more than abstinence and the safe sex slogan. They need to know where and how to obtain protection and the appropriate ways to use these methods. The false assumption these kids have about what can lead to an STI is astonishing; these kids do not know that more than sex can lead to an STI. The consequences of the actions these students are taking are not apparent to them. They need training to learn how to care about themselves and to treat each other with respect.
-ashley gwinn
What happened?
I wanted to focus this scenario on the article “Teaching Themes of Care”. In this article it makes claims that the theme of caring needs to be inserted into the curriculum and hints at the notion that it shouldn’t end there. I want to discuss the going beyond that. The school that I am at (SWCC) has a large number of students with behavioral issues and a staggering number who fall below the poverty line. Most of them are latchkey kids with their parents working a variety of first, second, or third or shifts (sometimes a combination of multiple) thus causing them to have limited time with their parents and thus a deficiency of positive role models in their life.
Knowing some of their backgrounds, I have made strides to get to know the students on a personal level too. I've learned their hardships; I've listened to their heart-felt stories; I've shared some of my stories. All in all, I have tried to take an interest in them.
This all leads up to last week, when the girls had a volleyball game afterschool. I told them that I would be there no matter what. They were shocked which made me a little confused. The one girl said, “You’re really, really, really gonna be there?!” “Of course,” I responded. I attended the game and they all were pumped when I walked in and left their pregame warm-up to say hi.
Why did it happen?
When I was at the game, only one of the 10 girls parents showed up to the game and I began to understand why they were so excited I came. I’m not sure if their parents promise to come and don’t, or if they just can’t/won’t. It put a lot of their home lives in perspective for me. The one parent who did come, went over to the bench in between games and was talking to their child (who was struggling to hit the ball) and all I could see was the child start crying. Thus, after the game I made a point to go over to her, in front of the parent, and congratulate her on the aspects she did very well with (aka serving overhand).
What does it mean?
It shows that in students’ lives (especially in poverty areas where the work schedule isn’t always 9-5) they don’t always get the time and support from their families. Also, they go home and have free reign to do as they please until their parents come home.
What are the implications for future practice?
That is why as teachers who spend a third of their day with them (at least in my grade level) we have the responsibility to help teach them themes of caring. Not simply by reading about it, but by demonstrating it.
One key area that schools do a good job in (but there is room for improvement) is with after school programs. It gives parents time to get home, it gives students more time with good role models, and they can be engaged in a variety of activities
-DEREK BOILLAT